Clooney and Streep top nominations for Screen Actors Guild awards

Melbourne: George Clooney and Meryl Streep have topped nominations in the Best Actor and Best Actress category respectively for the Screen Actors Guild awards this year.

Clooney has been nominated for his portrayal of a single father in ‘The Descendants’, while Streep for playing Margaret Thatcher in the ‘The Iron Lady’.

Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Glenn Close and Tilda Swinton are also among stars tipped for prizes from the Guild, whose nominations traditionally kick off Hollywood’s annual awards season.

‘The Descendants’, ‘The Artist’, ‘The Help’, ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ were nominated for outstanding cast performance, which has sometimes proved an indicator of best picture winner at the all-important Oscars, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The SAGs announcement, whose winners will be announced on January 29, came a day ahead of the nominations for the Golden Globes, also seen as a key indicator of hopes for the Oscars.